Bridge of Clay

Like a modern novel, the style, with it’s short, incomplete sentences was difficult to follow. Unlike a modern novel with its realism that leaves the reader where (s)he is, this novel will lift up the reader. It is so real without being depressing. The author goes back and forth, so the reader gets some relief from the sad parts. Ultimately, it’s about life, about remembering our stories no matter how imperfect they are, and about growing and knowing who we are. That’s why I gave it four stars. If you’re used to the writing style, you will give it five stars as you will go right through it, hopefully not without reflective thinking. It’s a deep book. READ IT!

I love this author and The Book Thief is my all time favourite book. I’ve read every book Zusack has written so added this one to my pile.It took me a while to get the books rhythm, it does jump timelines but once I’d figured it out it all made sense. The ending was beautiful and I’m so glad I persevered. Give it a try, keep going and find the rhythm. Enjoy!

This book is fine. That’s the best way I can describe it. There are some very high points and then a lot of filler and repetition. The story is nonlinear, but woven well as it traces the lives and history of the Dunbar clan.What starts as a searing flame of a story of characters alive with unbridled adolescent energy, is extinguished somewhat as the story folds over itself again and again. The power of the linear story (as the characters themselves would have experienced it) is diluted by the cyclical story structure. Still, Clay is a beautiful character. Deeply wounded and intense in his sense of rightness, Clay seeks to make peace with his world despite setbacks, abandonment, loss, death, and pain. He determinedly forces his way forward in life and, in his sheer determination, finds a sort of cathartic peace.Zusak introduces the Dunbar boys with a confusing, beautiful compelling story of struggle--a metaphor, perhaps, which seems to lie at the heart of the novel. Clay is poised at the starting line for a 400 meter race--one lap around the track. The track, stadium, and field are all in disrepair, which provides the perfect setting for boyhood to thrive. In the crumbling bleachers are onlookers and betters. Spaced out along the track (invisible to Clay because of the weeds from the infield) are three sets of boys who are determined to stop Clay from making it to the finish. Clay has to fight and wrestle and run and bulldoze his way through while his brothers either act as his opposition or take bets on the time it will take for Clay to cross the finish. Clay’s oldest brother, Matthew the narrator, calls this training. Clay is understood to be fully committed to his training with no clear idea of what exactly he is training for. As the story will reveal, this progressive sense of struggle and training and scrapping and clawing is indeed the substance of the Dunbar boys’ lives.Complex relationships and family dynamics lie at the heart of this group coming-of-age tale. A beautiful relationship with Carey the jockey brings Clay his deepest fulfillment. The loss of his mother after a long decline crumbled him. The desertion by his father left him rudderless. And then through struggle, through training, through running ahead and pressing forward the Dunbars somehow sort out the pieces of this unending puzzle to settle on a hard one semblance of resignation, if not peace.The characters are nuanced and compelling while the story drags at times. Overall, quite interesting and worth the read.B+

Five brothers left to their own devices after the death of their mother and abandonment by their father invent individual ways of coping and surviving. Seventeen-year-old Matthew, the oldest and narrator of the story, provides for the family and is the rule enforcer. Rory, the next oldest, is a tough boy, truant from school and repeatedly accused of vandalism. Henry is the brother who finds creative ways to make money. Tommy, the youngest, is the animal lover for whom the brothers acquire a cat, a dog, a goldfish and a mule to provide comfort in the absence of parents.Clay, the quiet boy, follows his compulsions. Driven to run, he regularly runs a gauntlet of neighborhood boys lying in wait to tackle him and slow him from reaching ever faster times. He becomes a track star, but no one is sure what he seems to be running from. Clay was closest to his mother and the designated holder of her family secrets. One of those secrets was the childless first marriage of his father.The father makes an unwelcome visit to the boys and sees the former family home turned into chaotic boys’ flophouse. His mission isn’t due to parental concern. Rather, he wants the brothers to help him build a bridge on his rural property that contains a flood-prone river stream.This story is alternately sad, funny, and raucous. Zusak explores the bonds between brothers, mothers and sons, and fathers and sons. He provides rich insight into why brothers act the way they do. Some scenes are straight-up hilarious, such as the wise mule who likes to come in the house and stand in the kitchen, and the cat who physically attaches himself to the only brother who can’t bear him.The indomitable mother of this clan, the dying, hardscrabble immigrant from the Balkans is written with poignancy and brutal clarity. So much so, that there are times when you wish these scenes weren’t as lengthy. The book is written in the now-common back and forth between different time periods and culminates with the airing of the biggest family secret. This is an affecting work, one that I recommend for those who like to read about family dynamics and the ways that boys cope with tragedy.

Despite the excellent review I read in the Times, I am finding this an extremely tedious book to read. The author's staccato style is one thing, but the ineffectual, long-winded way he has of eventually getting to the point is probably the biggest set back. I shall persevere though!

I loved the book thief and have waited with anticipation for this book. I pre - ordered it but haven't read it in its entirety until now . Why , you might well ask . Firstly I was a bit afraid it wouldn't live up to its predecessors and secondly I struggled with the first part of the book. I started it about 4 times but became frustrated with mention of items and promises of stories to come.I picked the book up and down quite a few times and reluctant to start again. Whilst on holiday I stubbornly started from the beginning again and perserved with parts of the story I didn't understand , hoping things would become clearer as I went along . I'm so glad I did . After about a third of the way in I couldn't put it down. I wanted to find out about the beautiful tragic Dunbar family . A book rarely touches me so emotionally , I cried many times and as I finished it I felt I had made an emotional journey of my own , sharing love and loss with this big and beautiful family. Thank you Markus for introducing me to the boy who smiled.

Not a book that everyone who read the Book Thief would expect.. Very different. I needed to perservere for several chapters before I appreciated what the author was addressing. Glad I did continue but didn't fall in love with it as I did The Book Thief: one of my favourite books. Would I read another by Markus Zusak, not sure.

Bought it for my wife. She does'nt seem to like it much.

The best book I’ve read in ages! Beautifully written. I have every character, the road and the racetrack, the house and the bridge build so clearly in my mind. The shock of the disclosure of Penelope’s final moments, the dreadful secret kept, was soon dissolved in the realisation of Clay and his fathers turmoil. The bridge was both physical, and the bridge between the father, Clay, and the brothers.